Bomb Kills Officer at Sicilian Soccer Match

Late Friday evening at the Palermo-Catania match (stopped due to teargas), ultras (1) took to the street and started rioting. A carta bomba (2) was thrown from the upper tier of the stadium, landing in a police officer's squad car -- and hitting him in the face. The officer, a supervisor of the Questura di Catania, died one hour later in Ospedale Garibaldi (Catania), in what is being described as a futile attempt to save a life. The deceased, Filippo Raciti, was 38. He leaves behind a wife and two children. Another officer wounded in the attack is in critical condition.

Prodi, as well as the commissioner of the Figc lamented the degeneration of the sport and promised risposte dure -- swift action.

An estimated hundred fans were wounded in the clashes outside the stadium with security forces, and thus far 14 arrests have been made in the bomb attack against Raciti. All pending soccer matches in Italy have been cancelled until further notice.

(1) Ultras, from the French word "ultra-royaliste", are fans that harbor strong attachments to their city and/or region, often manifesting it in violent, passionate ways. Opposing Italian ultras are often locked into "gang wars".
(2) a bomba carta is a rudimental explosive device, traditionally composed of some sort of PVC tubing or packaging, packed with gunpowder, and wrapped in adhesive tape.

********UPDATE********

Filippo Raciti (pictured left) is dead. His wife is in mourning, but the ultras hit back last night in Livorno (Tuscany), tagging up the walls of a local paper, Il Tirreno, with the following three phrases:

Un altro Filippo Raciti -- We need another Filippo Raciti
Morte allo sbirro -- Death to the pigs
02.02.07 Vendetta x Carlo Giuliani -- 02.02.07 Vendetta for Carlo Giuliani

Carlo Giuliani was the young No-Global protestor killed in Genova in 2001 during the G8 protests; two shots were fired by the police, one hitting Giuliani in the head, killing him instantly.